How I cooked healthy meals with only a trangia and a BBQ...

#StayHealthy

This post is a little different... Before you ask, yes it is possible to have a meal other than pasta or a burger... No it's not easy and yes you need to plan a little....

BUT, if you're travelling on a budget or need to keep your bag light... This is definitely the way to go. ALSO, you don''t have to cook these meals using these two things, you are more than welcome to use a kitchen... If you have access to one!

This post is for the hardcore backpacker, not afraid to camp... And for a little inspiration to those on a budget (even if you're in a hostel).

The Basics:

Fire

(cooking equipment)

Flavour

Food

Fire :

Your trangia burner and some rocks to help shelter the flame.

OR

A BBQ - In Australia they are great, at every beach, national park or basically any public space where there is something to do they have these little guys waiting to be used, clean, gas powered and free!

Flavour:

No kidding... We had no salt and pepper for 6 weeks....​

What we did have however, was some cajun spice, a bottle of ketchup, a pot of butter, a bottle of fat free balsamic dressing, a bottle of honey and a bottle of soya sauce.

Food:

If the BBQ is there, great, go all out on the meat and fresh salad... If it's not, you need ingredients that can be cooked all in one pot without sacrificing the goodness.

(Appologies in advance for the poor photography, most photos were taken with limited natural light.)

​BBQ Meals:

1. Broken Head Wardorf Salad

BBQ one large chicken breast and slice into thin slices when cooked. Put a handful of salad leaves into a bowl/box/pan/container like item. Add one chopped apple, a handful of walnuts and some finely sliced sugar snap peas. Drizzle with balsamic dressing and serve.

2. Kebabs and Salsa with a Twist

BBQ some chicken kebabs coated in honey and soy sauce. BBQ some prawn kebabs coated in garlic, lemon and butter. Pour half a tin of sweetcorn into a container. Add ten chopped cherry tomatoes, half a chopped avocado and four chopped spring onions. Dress with balsamic and a squeeze of lemon. (You can just about boil a kettle on one of these little BBQs so serve with green tea.)

3. Turkey Beet Salad

Slice a turkey breast into chunks, season with cajun spice and BBQ. Chop three rounds of beetroot and crumble a chunk of feta into the salad, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and drizzle with balsamic. In your bowl/on your plate place a handful of green leaves. Top with the turkey and the beetroot salad.

4. Good Old Fashioned Burgers

To start, chop four to five raw carrots and dip into hummus (yummy). BBQ a burger each. Toast one bread roll (If wanted- preferably brown or wholegrain) on the BBQ. In a separate container, prepare a large salad of fresh leaves, half an avocado, some cherry toms and a few spring onions. Dress the salad with the balsamic dressing.

There were many more meals like these, only I didn't get pictures. You can basically substitute any of the above with different meats and if you're feeling adventurous, our favourite spin on the Broken Head wardorf salad was to roll the chicken in cream cheese and sundried tomatoes. That might sound a bit extreme for travelling food but there's ways to reduce cost...

TIPS to reduce cost:

Buy from fresh food markets rather than the supermarket.

Pick up avocados and bananas from road side sales.

If you are in a supermarket always weigh out what you need (including salad leaves).

Buy meat and other extras from the deli-counter rather than pre-packaged.

Check the price per kg rather than the advertised price.

Trangia Meals

1. A jumbled jumbalaya

Put your trangia on it's highest setting. Fry one small stick of chorizo, a large handful of prawns and four to five chopped spring onions. Add a small tin of chopped tomatoes, a small tin of sweetcorn and half a bag of frozen peas (These have been keeping your prawns chilled all day!). Add a sprinkling of cajun and a dash of balsamic as well as a squeeze of tomato sauce. Simmer and then add enough cous cous for two. Allow the cous cous to fluff up and then serve in a big bowl.

2. Fajitas

Fry one finely sliced red onion and one chopped chicken breast in your pan. Add one sliced red pepper and season with cajun spice. Add a spoon of water and a squeeze of tomato ketchup to make a sauce. Then add one sliced fresh tomato and simmer until cooked. Serve in a large wholemeal wrap with a crushed avocado and a handful of salad leaves. Leftovers? Take them with you for lunch tomorrow!

3. Chilli Chicken Warm salad

Fry one chopped chicken breast with one finely chopped red onion and one fresh chilli. Add a bag of spinach and sprinkle with seeds. Season with soy sauce. If you have the patience, you can cook some noodles first and then pop them back into the chicken dish to reheat.

And of course there were plenty of pasta dishes but always packed full of leftover veg and served alongside a salad :)

Breakfast was an easy one... We always had oats, longlife milk, a trail mix and honey on hand so porridge was an easy go to. Then we could mix it up and create a sort of meusli if we added another simple cereal such as branflakes. Top either of these with a local banana and you were winning! We also realised how easy it was to make toast on the BBQs so eggs or beans on wholemeal toast was always a good post-surf option.

Hope you can take something from this if you are travelling Aus or even going somewhere less exotic on a camping holiday. It just took a bit of creativity!